T&F Opens Indoor Season at First Annual UMB Invitational

BOSTON, Mass. – In their first meet of the 2012-13 season the track and field team had a strong debut in the first-ever UMass Boston Indoor Track and Field Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Amongst the many strong finishes for the Beacons was a third place finish by senior Samara Faustin (Boston, Mass.) in the 200 meter dash, a second place finish by newcomer Hulerie McGuffie (Lynn, Mass.) in the 400 meter dash, a third place finish by the reigning Little East Conference Indoor Rookie Field Athlete of the Year in Tylor Hart (Newton, Mass.) and finally a fifth place finish by the men's 4x400 relay team.

For Faustin, she earned her third place finish in the 200 with a time of 26.70 seconds, while McGuffie made her collegiate debut with a time of 1:01.01 to earn the second place finish in the 400.

Back on the men's side, Hart posted a jump of 6-06.75 to take third in the event. His jump was just .25 inches short of tying his personal best and program record jump of 6-07.00, which he set back on January 8 of this year. The men's 4x400 relay team recorded a combined time of 3:33.22 to close out their first meet of the season.

Also competing on the women's side of Saturday's invitational was freshman Anisha Trappier (Taunton, Mass.) who closed out the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.40 to qualify for the finals of the event. Her qualifying time earned her eighth, while Brianna Anderson (Lynn, Mass.) posted a time of 8.49 to finish in 12th place. Renee O'Brien (Stoneham, Mass.) finished in 60th place with her time of 8.88 seconds.

In the finals of the 60 Trappier finished in seventh place with a time of 8.30 seconds. After Faustin Trappier earned her second top-10 finish as she placed ninth in the 200 with a time of 27.63 seconds. McGuffie notched a 15th place finish with a time of 27.75. Shannel Trappier (Taunton, Mass.) and Anderson finished in 21st and 23rd place respectively with times of 28.10 and 28.33.

The 60 meter hurdles saw Alessandra Fiallos (Derby, Conn.) finished in 12th place with her time of 10.77 seconds. The women's 4x400 meter relay team posted a combined time of 4:35.30 to finish in 11th place overall.

Shannel Trappier leaped her way to a fifth place finish in the long jump with a final mark of 15-06.00 feet. Nicole Aube (Westfield, Mass.) was lone Beacons competitor in the throwing events as she took 11th in the weight throw (30-07.75) and 14th in the shot put (29-09.50).

For the men's 60 meter dash Louseney Kromah (Dorchester, Mass.) finished in 11th place with his time of 7.33 seconds. Fritz Gustave (Fall River, Mass.) posted a time of 7.37 seconds to finish in 16th place.

Fritz Gustave (Fall River, Mass.) earned his first top-10 finish with UMB as the freshman posted a time of 23.67 seconds to finish in eighth place in the 200. Norbert Simon (Chelsea, Mass.) crossed the finish line in 15th place with his time of 24.07 seconds.

In the 400 Kromah went on to earn seventh place with a time of 52.92, with senior Henry Morales (Chelsea, Mass.) right on his heals with a time of 53.20. Emilio Alvarez-Flores (Mexico City, Mexico) closed out the 400 meter dash with a time of 54.04 (11th).

Senior captain Hamza Abdul (Chelsea, Mass.) crossed the finish line in eighth place in the 500 meter dash with a time of 1:12.08. Chhenlee Ly (Leominster, Mass.) earned a 12th place finish with his time of 1:16.22.

The men's long jump saw Morales place ninth overall with his leap of 20-05.25. Julian Hubbard (Windsor, Maine) made his debut in the event with a mark of 19-03.25 to take 15th. In the shot put Christian Cabrera (Fall River, Mass.) recorded a throw of 37-05.75 to earn 14th place.

Ian MacDonald (Whitman, Mass.), Lenford Coote (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Jabari Woods (Randolph, Mass.) finished in 18th, 19th, and 20th place with throws of 35-00.50, 34-10.25, and 34-07.75 respectively. The weight throw saw MacDonald lead the way with a toss of 32-10.25 feet (9th). Woods finished in 12th with his final throw of 31-11.25, followed by Cabrera in 15th with a final mark of 29-02.50.

Track and Field returns to action next Saturday when they take part in the Harvard University Open.